Electrical switch and fuse housing combination having a pivotally mounted adapting mechanism operable independently of its movable cover



Apr1l20, 1965 ELECTRICAL SWITCH AND FUSE HOUSING COMBINATION HAVING APIVOTALLY MOUNTED ADAPTING MECHANISM OPERABLE INDEPENDENTLY OF ITSMOVABLE COVER Filed Sept. 15, 1961 Mil i L. MALOTA ETAL INVENTORSLADISLAV MALOTA WILLIAM F: OLAsHAw A TTORNE Y 3,179,761 VING April 20,1965 MALOTA ETAL ELECTRICAL SWITCH AND FUSE HOUSING COMBINATION HA APIVO'I'ALLY MOUNTED ADAPTING MECHANISM OPERABLE INDEPENDENTLY OF ITSMOVABLE COVER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 15, 1961 INVENTORS LADISLAVMALOTA WILLIAM F. OLASHAW BY ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,179,761ELECTRICAL SWITUH AND FUSE HOUEiING CUMEINATIGN HAVING A PIVGTALLYMDUNTED ADAITING MECHANHM 0P- ERABLE INDEPENDENTLY 01? HS MOV- ABLECGVER Ladislav Malota, Southington, and William F. ()lashaw,

New Britain, Conn., assignors to General Electric Company, a corporationof New York Filed Sept. 15, 1961, Ser. No. 138,408 3 Claims. (Cl.200-60) The present invention relates to an electric switch and fusecombinations and more particularly to a fused electric switch assemblysuitable for use within a separate outer enclosure, such, for example,as in industrial enclosed switches and in panelboards and switchboards.

In accordance with the prior art, industrial electric switch and fusecombinations are provided utilizing switching mechanisms of the typehaving a reciprocally operable handle. The switch and accompanying fusesare mounted on a common base within an outer enclosure having a doorwhich overlies the switch operating handle. To permit manual operationof the switch while the door is closed, a handle is usually providedcarried by the enclosure door and having means at the inner surface ofthe door of engaging and operating the switch handle and forinterlocking with the door to prevent inadvertant opening of the doorwhile the switch is in the on position. It is ordinarily desired thatthe manually operable handle be of the rotary or twist type, andtherefore translating mechanism, is usually provided be tween themanually operable handle and the reciprocally operable switch handle.

In such constructions, it is necessary for the user to mount the switchWithin the enclosure and to separately mount the manually operablehandle operating mechanism on the door of the enclosure. This entailsconsiderable work and expense. Moreover, when the manually operablehandle is mounted separately on the door of the enclosure, it is alwayspossible for it to become out of register with the inner switch handle,causing an incorrect indication of the condition of the switch, orperhaps causing breakage of the parts when the door is closed because ofsuch misalignment.

In addition, with present devices, it is possible for a user to open theenclosure door, move the switch to on condition, and then inadvertentlyattempt to remove the associated fuses from their sockets, with theaccompanying danger to his safety.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a fused electricswitch assembly suitable for use within an enclosure and utilizing abasic switch operating mechanism of the toggle type, which provides arotary or twist type handle which can be made readily accessible forexterior operation.

It is another object of the invention to provide such an assembly havinga basic switching device and a handle motion adapter carried thereby inwhich the handle adapting mechanism portion prevents access to the fusesuntil the handle has been moved to the oil position.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a fusedelectric switch device which shall also provide the desired locking andinterlocking functions between the enclosed switch and the door of theenclosure.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a fusedelectric switch assembly including a basic support. A standard toggletype multi-pole electric switching device is mounted on the support, asare a number of fuse terminals, adapted to support a number of fuses inside-by-side relation aligned with the corresponding poles of theswitching device. Mounted above 3,179,761 Patented Apr. 20, 1965 theswitching device on a separate supporting plate is a handle operatingand interlocking mechanism including a rotary or twist type handle andmeans at the inner side of the plate for engaging the basic switchhandle. In order to provide access to the fuse terminals when desired,and to prevent such access when not desired, the handle adapting andinterlocking mechanism is pivotally supported at one end so that theentire mechanism may be swung upwardly away from the switch to provideaccess to the fuses.

The invention will be more fully understood from the following detaileddescription, and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a fused electric switch or panelboardunit;

FIGURE 1A is a top plan view of the switch of FIGURE 1 within an outerenclosure enclosing substantially all of the switch except the operatinghandle, and providing a front operable enclosed electric switch;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view, partially 'broken away of the unit ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation view similar to FIGURE 2 and showing aportion of the operating mechanism in upwardly tilted position to permitremoval of fuses;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the operatingmechanism of the switch of FIGURES 1 through 3;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of the operating handle of the switch ofFIGURES 1 through 3;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the operating mechanismutilized in FIGURE 4, and

FIGURE 7 is a view of a portion of the mechanism shown in FIGURE 6,shown in a different operated condition.

Referring to the drawings, the invention is shown as incorporated in apanelboard unit comprising a generally rectangular, box-like enclosure10 having an openable cover portion or door 11 hinged at 12, having agenerally rectangular opening therein 13. Within the enclosure ltl,there is mounted a formed sheet metal supporting pan 14 having a switch15 mounted thereon. A fuse terminal supporting block 16 is mounted onthe support 14 in spaced relation to the switch 15 and carries aplurality of fuse terminals 17 of the clip type. The switch 15 includesan insulating base 18, which at the one end supports a plurality of lineterminal fuse clips 19 corresponding in placement and number to the loadterminal fuse clips 17. A plurality of stationary contacts 28 aremounted on the insulating base 18 and correspond in alignment and numberto the fuse clips 17 and 19, there being one for each pole of theswitch. The switch 15 likewise includes a plurality of movable contacts21 corresponding in placement and number to the stationary contacts 20.The movable contacts are each connected by a suitable flexible connector22 to a corresponding one of the line terminal fuse clips 19. An arcextinguishing assembly 23 is provided adjacent each of the stationarycontacts 20.

The movable contacts 21 are ganged together by a contact cross-arm 24,and are adapted to be moved thereby between open and closed circuitpositions, into and out of engagement with said stationary contacts, byan operating mechanism of the over-center toggle type. The switchoperating mechanism may be of any suitable type, having a reciprocallymovable operating member 27.

The circuit through the protective device may be traced as follows, fromthe load terminal fuse clips 17, through the fuses 25, to the lineterminal fuse clips 19, to the flexible conductor 22, to the movablecontacts 21, to the stationary contacts 20, and thence to the output orline terminals 26.

For the purpose of permitting manual operation of the switching devicefrom outside of the enclosure 19, as Well as for providing certaininterlocking functions with relation to the cover 11 of the enclosure itwe provide adapting mechanism indicated generally at 28.

The adapting mechanism 2% is shown more particularly in FIGURES 4through 7, and includes a generally planar supporting pan or plate 29having a pair of side flanges 29a. The plate 2% is pivotally supportedon insulating side plates 30 by means of pivot pins fit) in the flanges2%.

As shown in FIGURE 6, the plate 23 carries a pair of opposed guidetracks 32 which serve to slidably support an operating plate or slidemember 33. An operating handle 31 is rotatably supported on the uppersurface of plate 2?. The operating handle 31 has a retainer plate 34connected thereto at the inner surface of the plate 29. The plate 34 isprovided with an extension 35, terminating in a downwardly bent lug 35'which engages in an aperture 3t: in the plate 33. Rotational movement ofthe handle 31 is therefore translated into reciprocating straight linemotion of the operating slide 33. The operating slide 33 is alsoprovided with an aperture 37 adapted to receive the operating member 27of the contact operating mechanism, whereby to operate the movablecontacts upon motion of the outer handle 31.

The operating mechanism 28 is provided with interlocking and padlockingmeans, as set forth and claimed in co-pending application Serial No.138,363 filed September 15, 1961 by Ladislav Malota and assigned to thesame assignee as the present invention which will be only brieflydescribed here. The interlocking means comprises an interlocking lever38 carried by a non-circular stud 39 pivotally supported on the plate29. The lever 38 has a projection 40 adapted to enter a catch or bracket41 carried by the enclosure cover It], see FIGURE 4, when the cover isclosed. The lever 3% is biased toward latching or interlocking positionby means of a biasing spring 41.

For the purpose of withdrawing the projection at from the catch 41 topermit opening of the cover when the switch is moved to off position, anextension 42 is provided on the lever 33, which projects into the pathof movement of a portion of the slide 33. When the slide 33 movesdownwardly as viewed, to the off position, it engages the extension 42of the lever 38, and rotates lever 38 counterclockwise as viewed,withdrawing the projection 4ft from the catch 41 and permitting openingof the cover.

If it is desired to open the cover It while the switch is in the onposition, that is, while the slide is in the upward position as shown inFIGURE 7, it is only necessary to rotate the stud 39 counterclockwisesuch as by means of a screwdriver inserted in the slot in the head ofthe stud 39, to withdraw the projection at from the catch 31. A suitableopening, not shown, is provided in the cover It to permit such defeatingof the cover interlock.

The stud 39 also performs another function, in that it serves to retainthe operating handle 31 in ofif position while the cover it is open. Forthis purpose, the stud 39 is made slidable axially in the lever 38 andis provided with a lateral extension 43, terminating in anupwardlydirected projection 4-4. The stud 39 is biased upwardly by meansof a spring, not shown, so that when it is not restrained in adownwardly direction by the presence of the door 1h, it is allowed tomove upwardly and the projection 44 enters the aperture 45 in the slide33. When this occurs, it is impossible to move the handle 31 to the onposition because of the inter-engagement of the slide 33 with the stud39. If it is desired, nevertheless, to move the switch to on positionwhen the door is open, it is only necessary to depress the stud 39 bymanual means to permit closing of the switch. Once the switch has beenclosed and is again opened, the end 44 of the stud 39 may once againre-engage the slide 33 in the opening 45, since the lower edge of theslide 33 is made tapered to permit the end 44 to ride upwardly on itwith a cam action to the engaged position.

In accordance with an important aspect of our invention, the adaptingmechanism 28 is pivotally supported at one end on the pivots 3G and isreleasably held at the other end, such for example as by means of screws46 which engage in fixed brackets 4-7 carried by the side plates fit Thetilting upward of the mechanism 28 affords ready access to removal ofthe fuses 25. More importantly, when the operating mechanism is in thenormal horizontal position and held by the screws as, it will beobserved that it is impossible to get at the line end of the fuses 25.This construction efiectively prevents any inadvertent attempt to removethe fuses 25 while the switch is in the on position. In order to gainaccess to the fuses at the line end to remove them, it is necessary totilt the operating mechanism 23 upwardly.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, it is not possibleto tilt the handle operating mechanism upwardly while the reciprocableoperating member 27 is in on position. Thus the plate 29 is providedwith an extension 47 which strikes a portion of the operating member 27if it is attempted to lift the plate 29 while the member 27 is in the onposition. Thus, in order to gain access to the fuse terminals 19, toremove the fuses 25, it is necessary to turn the handle 31 to offposition.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the interferencebetween the handle 27 and the extension 4'7 of the plate 29 alsoperforms another important function. Thus if it is attempted to closethe switch 15 by moving the handle 27 manually, while the adaptingmechanism is in the upwardly tilted position, this will be prevented bythe extension 47 which then gets in the way of the handle 27 andprevents such movement.

In order to permit locking of the device, as shown in my co-pendingapplication, the handle 31 is provided with a flat sheet metal slidemember 48 which is biased inwardly of the handle 31 to the positionshown in FIG- URE 5 by means of a compression spring 49. The slide .8 isprovided with a finger piece St) by means of which the slide 48 may bemoved to a projecting position. The pan or plate 29 is provided with apair of slots 51 and 52 corresponding to the on and off positions of thehandle, into which the projection 53 of the slide 4-8 enters when theslide is moved outwardly as described. When the slide 48 is moved to itsprojecting position, a lock or locks may be inserted in the apertures 54and 55, serving to lock the slide 48 in its outwardly projectingposition. It will be observed that a portion of the slide 48 overliesthe cover It when in its outwardly projecting position. Locking theslide 48 in such position, therefore not only serves to lock the handle31 from rotation away from such position, but also serves to lock thecover It) in closed ters Patent of the United States is:

1. In an enclosed electric device comprising a box-like enclosire havingan open top wall, a cover carried by said enclosure and movable betweenopen and closed position, said cover when in said closed positionclosing a first portion of said open top Wall, and an electric switchmounted in said enclosure, said switch including a plurality ofstationary and movable contacts and means for operating said movablecontacts into and out of engagement with said stationary contactscomprising a reciprocally operable member, said switch also comprising aplurality of terminals electrically connected to at least some of saidcontacts, that improvement which comprises: an adapting mechanism havinga rotary type handle and a reciprocating switch operating memberconnected to said rotary type handle for operation thereby, meanspivotally supporting said adapting mechanism on said switchindependently of said cover for tilting movement between first andsecond positions, said reciprocating switch operating member of saidadapting mechanism being connected to said reciprocally operable memberof said switch when said adapting mechanism is in said first positionand being disconnected from said reciprocally operable member of saidswitch when said adapting mechanism is in said second position, saidadapting mechanism also comprising means preventing access to saidterminals of said switch when said adapting mechanism is in said firstposition and not preventing access to said terminals when said adaptingmechanism is in said second position, said adapting mechanism closing asecond portion of said open top wall of said enclosure when in saidfirst position, said adapting mechanism being accessible for manualoperation when said cover is on said enclosure and said adaptingmechanism is in said first position. I

2. An enclosed electric switch as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidrotary handle of said adapting mechanism is movable between on and oflpositions corresponding to on and oif positions respectively of saidmovable contacts, and interfering means carried by said adaptingmechanism and engaging a portion of said switch when said adaptingmechanism is in said first position and said rotary handle is in said onposition and preventing movement of said adapting mechanism from saidfirst to said second position while said rotary handle is in said onposition.

3. An enclosed electric switch as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidreciprocally operable member of said switch is reciprocally movablebetween on and olf positions respectively of said movable contacts, andinterfering means carried by said adapting mechanism and engaging aportion of said switch to prevent movement of said reciprocally operablemember of said switch from said off to said on position while saidadapting mechanism is in said second position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,399,495 12/21Krantz 20050.1 1,857,711 5/32 Dante 200--50.1 2,313,170 3/43 Pierce20050.1 2,404,183 7/46 Landmeier 200-50.1 2,894,084 7/59 Rexroad 20050.12,907,840 10/59 Cole ZOO-50.1 2,937,254 5/60 Ericson 200--114 BERNARD A.GILHEANY, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Examiner.

1. IN AN ENCLOSED ELECTRIC DEVICE COMPRISING A BOX-LIKE ENCLOSURE HAVINGAN OPEN TOP WALL, A COVER CARRIED BY SAID ENCLOSURE AND MOVABLE BETWEENOPEN AND CLOSED POSITION, SAID COVER WHEN IN SAID CLOSED POSITIONCLOSING A FIRST PORTION OF SAID OPEN TOP WALL, AND AN ELECTRIC SWITCHMOUNTED IN SAID ENCLOSURE, SAID SWITCH INCLUDING A PLURALITY OFSTATIONARY AND MOVABLE CONTACTS AND MEANS FOR OPERATING SAID MOVABLECONTACTS INTO AND OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID STATIONARY CONTACTSCOMPRISING A RECIPROCALLY OPERABLE MEMBER, SAID SWITCH ALSO COMPRISING APLURALITY OF TERMINALS ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED TO AT LEAST SOME OF SAIDCONTACTS, THAT IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES: AN ADAPTING MECHANISM HAVINGA ROTARY TYPE HANDLE AND A RECIPROCATING SWITCH OPERATING MEMBERCONNECTED TO SAID ROTARY TYPE HANDLE FOR OPERATION THEREBY, MEANSPIVOTALLY SUPPORTION SAID ADAPTING MECHANISM ON SAID SWITCHINDEPENDENTLY OF SAID COVER FOR TILTING MOVEMENT BETWEEN FIRST ANDSECOND POSITIONS, SAID RECIPROCATING SWITCH OPERATING MEMBER OF SAIDADAPTING MECHANISM BEING CONNECTED TO SAID RECIPROCALLY OPERABLE MEMBEROF SAID SWITCH WHEN SAID ADAPTING MECHANISM IS IN SAID FIRST POSITIONAND BEING DISCONNECTED FROM SAID RECIPROCALLY OPERABLE MEMBER OF SAIDSWITCH WHEN SAID ADAPTING MECHANISM IS IN SAID SECOND POSITION, SAIDADAPTING MECHANISM ALSO COMPRISING MEANS PREVENTING ACCESS TO SAIDTERMINALS OF SAID SWITCH WHEN SAID ADAPTING MECHANISM IS IN SAID FIRSTPORTION AND NOT PREVENTING ACCESS TO SAID TERMINALS WHEN SAID ADAPTINGMECHANISM IS IN SAID SECOND POSITION, SAID ADAPTING MECHANISM CLOSING ASECOND PORTION OF SAID OPEN TOP WALL OF SAID ENCLOSURE WHEN IN SAIDFIRST POSITION, SAID ADAPTED MECHANISM BEING ACCESSIBLE FOR MANUALOPERATION WHEN SAID COVER IS ON SAID ENCLOSURE AND SAID ADAPTINGMECHANISM IS IN SAID FIRST POSITION.